January 24, 2017 News by Joana Fernandes, PhD 2 Cases of Brain Inflammation Raise Questions of Lemtrada Safety, But Link Uncertain Two multiple sclerosis (MS) patients developed severe brain inflammation after being treatedĀ with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), researchers report, raising questions about the therapy. A definite link between the lesions and the treatment, however, was not established. The patients’Ā symptomsĀ were successfully controlled with a blood transfusion and treatment with rituximab (brand name Rituxan,…
November 29, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD UV Light May Lead Way to New Treatment for MS and Inflammation Researchers have foundĀ a way to harness inflammation with the help of ultraviolet (UV) light, making it possible to design an anti-inflammatory treatment that is more specific and causes fewer side effects. If this approach canĀ be developed forĀ clinical treatment, itĀ likely will have a large impact on the lives of people with…
September 21, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Few Serious Autoimmune Reactions to Lemtrada Treatment Seen in 3 MS Clinical Trials Autoimmune side effects during five years of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) treatment were generally not serious and mainly affected the thyroid, according to an analysis of patients in three large, Phase 3 clinical trials of the therapy. The data were presented at the Free Communications 1 session of the European Committee…
September 15, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD #ECTRIMS2016 – Escalation vs. Induction Treatment for Early MS Topic of Debate Two renowned multiple sclerosis (MS) specialistsĀ shared their opposing viewsĀ regarding the use of escalation or induction treatment for newly diagnosed MS patients. The debate was at the Hot Topic 1 Session of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2016 Congress, now taking place in London through…
July 13, 2016 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Side Effects and Convenience of MS Therapies Seen to Determine Patients’ Adherence to Them Despite the existence of several disease-modifying drugs for peopleĀ with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), patients’ satisfaction plays a critical role in their adherence to treatment. ImprovingĀ adherence should be a major concernĀ in the clinicĀ to prevent patients from evolving to more debilitating stages of the disease. AĀ team of researchers in Germany reportĀ that side…
July 11, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Workings of Common Statin, Simvastatin, Explored in Ways Relevant to Multiple Sclerosis One of the worldās most commonly used medications ā the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin ā was found to affect the immune system in a way that can be explored to treat inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Researchers have earlier noted that simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is beneficial for MS…
June 24, 2016 Columns by admin MS Patients Need a Drug Therapy Without Awful Side Effects Never having been offered, let alone received any disease modifying therapy, I can address the subject of disease modifying therapies, and their side effects, with complete impartiality. Of course, the reason for the lack of any medication is because none has yet been approved for use with MS patients who…
June 1, 2016 Columns by admin Side Effects of Zinbryta, an FDA-approved MS Drug, Need to Be Considered Too Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this blog post are not the opinions of Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Our MS Blog series offers patient experts to engage in patient-focused topics that are meant to spark discussion and debate in the Multiple Sclerosis community. The opinions of our bloggers are entirely…
January 5, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD Review Highlights Long List of Unmet Needs For MS Patients In a special feature publishedĀ in the journal American Health & Drug Benefits, authorsĀ Stanton R. Mehr, President of SM Health Communications, and Marj P. Zimmerman, President of RxDirections, discuss the many unmet medical needs multiple sclerosis (MS) patients still face in dealing with the…
September 17, 2015 News by Malika Ammam, PhD Ocrelizumab: a Promising New Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis with Minimal Side Effects On September 16, 2015, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced that ocrelizumab, a drug originally designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis that saw its development stopped due to an association with infections, could potentially treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) as well as primary progressive MS (PPMS) with minimal sides effects compared…